Expeditors, Schiphol Logistic Park

Expeditors is a global logistics company headquartered in Seattle, Washington (USA) for which DP6 has designed a new logistics complex (offices and warehouse facilities). The new building is located at Schiphol Logistics Park, with the location of the offices offering a view across the dyke of the church and windmill of Aalsmeer.

The new Expeditors office includes working offices, conference and training rooms as well as cafeteria & parking facilities. The warehouses will be focused on different logistics services Expeditors offers to their clients. The design of the office space is based on a highly compact arrangement. The office layout offers flexibility, with central meeting rooms adjoining the atrium, and central facilities for each level clustered around the building core. Between these, the spacious atrium acts as the building’s beating heart, a place where staff can meet, work and confer as well as grab a coffee or have lunch in the south-facing cafeteria facility with access to a green roof terrace. The interior exudes warmth, with wood-faced walls, timber facade frames and lots of transparency.

The entire complex has been treated as an integrated design, with the various building sections linked together by the clever use of materials. The white horizontals of the facade are continued in the interior. The windows are accentuated by dark fins. In the parking facility, the ground floor of the office building and the reception area, the fins return as uprights that bring together the separate building units, creating a powerful architectural composition.

The project aims to achieve a high level of sustainability. It is a very compact building enclosing an atrium that provides ample daylight and natural convection. The lighting system uses LEDs exclusively, and electicity is generated by photovoltaic panels. Heating is by a low-temperature system in combination with heat recovery through climate ceilings.